Horsemeat ‘may have been in food system for 3 years’

Horsemeat may have been in the food system and passed off as beef for up to three years, according to the head of the country’s food safety watchdog.

Alan Reilly, chief executive of the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI), said although the first definitive test showing horsemeat contamination in a beef burger had occurred in Apr 2012, it was his “suspicion that it had been going on for two-and-a-half to three years” before that under the noses of all of Europe’s food safety watchdogs.

Prof Reilly said the authority had been using DNA testing on meat since 2005, but decided seven years later to see if people were “cheating” by passing off horsemeat for more expensive meats and making vast profits for themselves.

He said he “lost some sleep” after one particular burger was tested and found to contain 29% horsemeat, and added that making the decision to go public on the fraud “was a very difficult call”.

It was then that the horsemeat scandal exploded and within eight days, nearly all of Europe was involved.

“The [Irish] media attacked us for going public, but what we uncovered was a massive international fraud.”

He said up to that point people bought on trust.

“The industry norm now is to buy nothing on trust and to test it. So I couldn’t see it happening again,” he said.

The FSAI tested several blocks of frozen meat which were used for burgers. Prof Reilly said in one particular case a block labelled as Polish beef trim contained “horsemeat with an Irish stamp and a micro-chip for a Polish horse”.

He made his comments yesterday when he addressed members of Cork County Council on food safety in general.

Prof Reilly said his agency was shortly hoping to lift “boil before eating” warnings on imported frozen berries which were found to contain hepatitis A.

The authority did not order a withdrawal of the imports as no common source has been identified.

However, increases in people contracting hepatitis A linked to the berries were also reported in Italy, Scandinavian countries, and the US.

“We can’t prove categorically where they came from. I think the outbreak is now gone and we expect to lift the warning next week,” said Prof Reilly.

Meanwhile, he told councillors that the agency did not believe there was any risk to the public from the fluoridation of water.

“If I thought there was, I would be advising the minister. The weight of evidence [of fluoridation] is in favour of dental health.”